The death toll continues to rise post an overnight earthquake which struck the north-western China and it currently stands at 127 while leaving hundreds injured. This earthquake is said to be the deadliest earthquake which the country had to face as per the reports of Al Jazeera. The mobilisation efforts by the authorities include several emergency responses but their work gets complicated as the earthquake wrecked roads and infrastructure, triggered landslides and partly buried a village in silt.
Recuse work became difficult due to subzero temperatures with most of China grappling with below-freezing conditions after a powerful cold wave swept across the country. On December 19, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for “all-out efforts” in search and relief operations. Nearly 1,500 firefighters were deployed, with another 1,500 on standby, according to state media. More than 300 officers and soldiers were also mobilised for disaster relief. China’s state planner said it has allocated 250 million yuan (USD 35m) to assist Gansu and Qinghai provinces.
The earthquake had a magnitude of 6.2, according to state news agency Xinhua. It struck at 23:59 pm (15:59 GMT) on December 18 in Gansu province, near the border with Qinghai, causing significant damage, state media reported.
As per Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, 113 people were confirmed dead in Gansu, with an additional 536 injured. In Qinghai, CCTV reported that 14 people were killed and 198 others injured. The death toll is the highest recorded in China since 2014, when an earthquake killed 617 people and devastated southwest China’s Yunnan province.
Gansu provincial authorities previously stated that more than 4,700 houses had been damaged. Power and water supplies were also disrupted in some villages, Xinhua reported. State television footage showed emergency vehicles driving along snow-lined highways and rescue workers pictured shoulder-to-shoulder in the trucks, as per Al Jazeera.
ANI
